A Change Will Do You Good

JUNK.

Prior to my diagnosis, I ate a heathy diet, worked an active job (sitting down for lunch was a treat) and thought everything was easy pickins.  Well, it was and it wasn't. 

For most cancers out there, we have still not identified a probable cause.  I have some theories on my own situation, but none with actual scientific evidence to back them up.  Doesn't really matter though, because there are times when science can't change a feeling.  Feelings of worry, concern, dread could wither up and die if relief came walking in the door.  

Anyway.  As it's been noted in the past, I am a gal who likes to have a little control over things.  When someone tells you there is cancer in your person and no one knows why, things tend to get a little kooky.  And with the stats out today about how many more people are scheduled to develop these conditions (1 in 2 men, 1 in 3 women) in our lifetime, my hunch is leaning towards something bad we're doing.

For me, that's good news.  If I was doing something wrong before, well, now I have a chance to change that.  And for all the people out there who haven't been k-nocked on their arses yet, well, perhaps you have a chance to avoid it altogether.  Whoopeee!

Making some changes in my home and in my habits made me feel good.  It gave me a sense of control in a quickly spiraling situation.  It made me an active participant in my own life instead of just a lump on a log, letting the doctors and the stupid stupid cancer be in charge.  No thank you.

I have had many people contact me over the past year to ask about what type of ________ I use.  I love to answer these messages because I feel like there are other people out there who want to pay attention now instead of waiting for an anvil to drop on their heads.  Over the next few posts, I am going to attempt to detail the types of _________ that I use now - what changes worked and what didn't.  I hope you'll find it helpful.

When all of this mayhem began 18 months ago, the first thing we did was to remove all of our plastic food storage containers from the kitchen.  In fact, to be more precise, I hopped onto amazon.com and bought enough glass containers (with bpa-free lids) and dishes to take us into 2025.  Then, I emptied out the drawers and cabinets of all plastic and threw them into a cardboard box in the basement.  We dig into the box every now and then to store small animal figurines or lego sets.  As far as I'm concerned, that's all they're good for.

I replaced all of our small plastic lunch containers and sippies for Judah with stainless steel containers and SIGGies, and glass water bottles.  In my search, I found this too (and love it!), but it was too big for his little lunch box.  We have almost done away with plastic bags - at least greatly reduced our usage of them - more for waste/planet preservation purposes, than for the anti-cancer crusade.  In place of baggies, we use reusies or waste not asks or lunch skins.  Are these items a little pricey?  Yes.  Do they last?  But of course.  This is stuff you can use for a LONG time.  And when the name labels finally wash off in the dishwasher, you can use them for your own lunch.  Portion control, anyone?

I'm not going too far into the price discussion because we all agree you can't put a price on your health.  From where I stand, I would pay any amount of money (and this is coming from someone who's looking for a job right now) to have some health security.  Not a guarantee, just a little bit of security.  For me, to spend more on a glass bottle that I can use every day (got one of those LifeFactory bottles from a friend last year and have been using it ever since for my aggressive hydration) and feel good about is worth the extra five bucks.  And to be sure, that's about all it is if you price compare.

Anyway, we also ditched the plastic kiddie plates and cups in favor of glass.  Maybe if Judah had been a thrower, we'd have waited on that one, but since we were all proficient in the proper usage of cups and plates, a trip to HomeGoods resulted in some adorable little juice glasses for Judah and a trip to Ikea led to some simple glass bowls and plates - just the right size for junior portions.

Now I also use the glass plates as lids if I have to microwave something (more on the microwave later), as there is a NO PLASTIC rule about heat (no microwave, no dishwasher) in our house.

Sigh.  I think that's everything about plastic in the kitchen.  I just feel it's bad news bears.  Let's all go back to the days of my Bubbe, who still uses glass jars for everything.  She's living into her nineties and is a lymphoma survivor, too.

Good luck with your kitchenware changes.  Please comment below and share your own experiences with making a change.

xxoo

PS. The song, for fun.